Did Lakshadweep Admin Propose To Move HC Jurisdiction From Kerala To Karnataka?

The Lakshadweep administration, which has been facing widespread protests from the islands¡¯ people over some of its policies, has mooted a proposal to shift its legal jurisdiction from the Kerala High Court to the Karnataka High Court.

The proposal was initiated by the administration after several litigations were moved before the Kerala High Court against the decisions taken by the islands¡¯ new administrator Praful Khoda Patel.

These controversial decisions include revising standard operating procedures for COVID appropriate behaviour, introduction of the ¡°goonda act¡± and demolishing hutments of fishermen for widening of roads.

Lakshadweep administration, which is facing widespread protests from islands' people over some of its policies, has mooted a proposal to shift its legal jurisdiction from Kerala High Court to Karnataka High Court: officials

¡ª Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 20, 2021

However, some reports suggest that no such proposal has been moved by the UT administration.

S Asker Ali, Secretary IPR and District Collector of Lakshadweep, has denied this report terming it as "baseless" and "devoid of truth."

"There is no proposal of the Lakshadweep Administration to shift its legal jurisdiction from the High Court of Kerala to the High Court of Karnataka. The news about shifting of the jurisdiction of the high court from Kerala to Karnataka is baseless and is devoid of truth," Ali said in a statement.

Patel, who is the administrator of Daman and Diu, was given the additional charge of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in the first week of December last year, when the former administrator Dineshwar Sharma died after a brief illness.

23 applications, including 11 writ petitions filed against administration

This year, as many as 23 applications, including 11 writ petitions, have been filed against the administrator of Lakshadweep and also against the alleged high-handedness of either the police or the local government of the islands.

BCCL

However, for reasons best known to the island¡¯s administration, which is under the spotlight over its handling of these issues, it has made a proposal for shifting its legal jurisdiction from the high court of Kerala to Karnataka.

Why are local politicians opposing the move

Much like other amendments being made to the island UT, the proposal to shift the high court jurisdiction to Karnataka has been met with widespread criticism.

The jurisdiction of a high court can be shifted only through an act of Parliament, according to the law. ¡°Parliament may by law constitute a high court for a Union Territory or declare any court in any such territory to be a high court for all or any of the purposes of this Constitution,¡± according to Article 241 of the Constitution.

Section 4 of the same article mentions that ¡°nothing in this article derogates from the power of Parliament to extend or exclude the jurisdiction of a high court for a state to, or from, any Union Territory or part thereof¡±.

Lok Sabha member Mohammed Faizal PP said, ¡°This was his (Patel) first attempt to shift the judicial jurisdiction from Kerala to Karnataka.¡± ¡°Why was he so particular to transfer it¡­ it¡¯s totally a misappropriation of the post. The mother tongue of the people on these islands is Malayalam,¡± he said.

¡°One should not forget the name of the high court is Kerala and Lakshadweep High Court. This proposal was conceived during his first visit to the islands,¡± Faizal said and asked if there was a need for this and how he could justify the proposal.

Faizal said there have been 36 administrators before Patel and no one had this kind of an idea. ¡°However, if this proposal will see any light of the day, we will oppose it tooth and nail on the floor of Parliament as well as with the judiciary,¡± the Lok Sabha member from Nationalist Congress Party said.

Another reason why moving jurisdiction does not work in favour of the locals is that Malyalam is a well-spoken as well as the written language both in Kerala and Lakshadweep and, therefore, the process could be streamlined.

BCCL

Shifting of the jurisdiction of the high court will change the entire judicial system of the islands as all the judicial officers are sent from the Kerala High Court because of the common language and script.

Prominent lawyer from Lakshadweep, C N Noorul Hidya said the move to change jurisdiction is not right.

"How can they change the jurisdiction when we share the bond of language and the court documents are accepted in Malayalam language only,¡± she said.

She said that most of the people will be opposing any such move as that would virtually lead them to denial of justice. ¡°One has to understand that the high court in Kerala is just 400 kms away whereas that of Karnataka is over 1,000 kms with no direct connectivity as well,¡± Hidya said.

Legal experts also opined that changing of high court would also mean extra-burden on the exchequer as all the cases, at present under trial, would have to be heard again afresh.